Daryl Wood Gerber

"When Courtney's friend Wanda gets into a ponytail-pulling wrestling match in public with a nasty local art critic, Courtney stops the fight with the help of a garden hose. But Lana Lamar has a talent for escalating things and creating tension, which she succeeds in doing by threatening a lawsuit, getting into yet another scuffle--in the midst of an elegant fundraiser, no less--and lobbing insults around like pickleballs. Next thing Courtney knows,...

Crush Week in Nouvelle Vie is a madhouse--in a good way. Tourists pour into town for the pressing of the Napa Valley's world-renowned grapes, and all the town's businesses get a nice lift, including Bistro and Maison Rousseau. Mimi is raising the ante this year with a Sweet Treats Festival, a wonderland of croissants, cakes, tarts, and soufflés crafted with expert care by the area's top talents. Chef Camille's sister, Renee, is managing the festival...

Back home in Nouvelle Vie in Napa Valley after dealing with her late husband's tremendous debt, Mimi Rousseau meets entrepreneur Bryan Baker, who invests in promising prospects. Working in the bistro and inn until she's able to pay it off and call it her own, Mimi is throwing the inn's first wedding ever. Talk show host Angelica Edmonton, daughter of Bryan's half-brother, Edison, has chosen the inn as her perfect venue. Then Edison gets drunk and...

"Jenna Hart has packed The Cookbook Nook chock-full of everything from ghostly texts to witchy potions in anticipation of the Winsome Witches' annual Halloween fundraiser luncheon. But there's one unexpected addition to the menu: murder. When their Head Priestess is found dead under mysterious circumstances, there's no logical answer and plenty of blame to go around. With her Aunt Vera unable to call on her ability to see the future, Jenna will need...

The denizens of Crystal Cove are salivating over the upcoming Food Bowl Week, when local chefs offer some of their best and most imaginative creations in bite-size portions all over town. Bookstore proprietor Jenna Hart is hungry to sample as many of the delicacies as she can, but when she stumbles onto the dead body of a local food reporter and learns that her best friend's husband is the primary suspect, she'll have to summon the appetite for a...

Book clubs from all over have descended on Crystal Cove to celebrate the library's Book Club Bonanza week, and Jenna Hart has packed the Cookbook Nook with juicy reads and tasty cookbooks. But she's most excited about spending an evening with the Mystery Mavens and their moveable feast, when they will go from house to house to share different culinary treats and discuss the whodunit they're all reading. It's all good food and fun for the savvy armchair...